Dylan is utterly fascinated by poison dart frogs so when he spots a pair of boots featuring his favourite amphibians he jumps for joy. He thinks they’ll be absolutely perfect for his first day at school – but his mum isn’t sure because the boots are purple and sparkly. She tries to steer him towards a different pair but Dylan won’t be swayed.
He wears the boots home feeling taller and cooler than ever before and that night he discovers that the frogs even glow in the dark. He is so excited to wear them to school and show his new friends!
Unfortunately things don’t quite go as planned. The children in his class call them ‘girl boots’ and laugh in his face. Poor Dylan feels embarrassed and retreats in to himself. The boots get kicked to the back of his wardrobe and he spends the rest of the week at school avoiding eye contact and playing alone.
At the weekend he stares at the boots and decides to try them out by himself. He jumps in puddles, splashes with the ducks and reads the boots lots of fun facts about poison dart frogs. His new boots are so much fun so why shouldn’t he wear them? Why should girls be the only ones allowed to wear purple?
On Monday morning he wears his frog boots with pride, but will his new found confidence be enough to win his classmates around?
We love this gorgeous story which teaches children to stay true to themselves and embrace the things which make them happy. It encourages empathy and also challenges gender stereotypes in a way that is easy for little ones to understand.
Ivy was fully on board with the message from the very first time we read this together and it sparked a great conversation about why clothes shouldn’t be gendered. If it makes you smile then wear it!
Buy it now: https://amzn.to/2EaBASm
Disclosure: The publisher provided us with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.